Hostel vs. AirBnB in Barcelona last spring... hostel won by a mile

I was trying to save cash for a week in Barcelona back in April. Booked a private room in an AirBnB for $65 a night. Thought I was being smart. First night, the walls were paper thin, I could hear everything from the neighbors. WiFi barely worked. Then I moved to a hostel for $28 a night. Way better location, free breakfast that wasn't just bread, and the front desk guy hooked me up with a cheap walking tour. Anyone else find hostels actually beat AirBnB for solo trips?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubysingh26d ago

Oh man, you've gotta be kidding me, yes! I did almost the same thing in Lisbon last fall. Booked an AirBnB for around $60 a night and it was this sad little room with a shared bathroom that smelled like someone's old gym bag. Moved to a hostel for like $22 and it was honestly the best call I made on that whole trip. The hostel had this rooftop bar where I met some other solo travelers and we ended up exploring the city together for two days. Your mileage may vary, but for solo trips, hostels just have that social vibe AirBnBs can't really touch.

hart.sage26d ago

Ugh yes the AirBnB smell lottery is real.

alicehernandez26d ago

TWENTY TWO DOLLARS for a hostel in Lisbon? That's absolutely insane, I can't even wrap my head around that. I spent like $90 a night on a tiny AirBnB in Porto that had a broken AC unit and a weird smell coming from the drain. You made the right call moving to that hostel, a rooftop bar for that price sounds like something out of a dream. I swear AirBnB has lost its mind with pricing while hostels are over here giving people actual experiences.